This will be the first time in his 50-year musical career that Walker will perform in the Muskegon area.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Walker said. “I’ve never been there so it should be a lot of fun.”

The singer-songwriter and guitarist, who was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in Memphis, Tenn. on May 8, has been honing his craft since the early 1960s.

“I really started playing regularly when I was 12 years old – 1962,” Walker said during a phone interview with MLive and The Muskegon Chronicle. “My cousins were musicians. It was something that was in my family.”

In his youth, he opened for the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Lightnin' Hopkins and Thelonious Monk. More recently he has been able to collaborate with blues giants like B.B. King and James Cotton.

Now, he joins his heroes and friends in the Blues Hall of Fame, the culmination of years of hard work for the 63-year-old musician.

“It feels like validation for a lot of stuff that I did,” Walker said. “I never thought that I would see this day, but it’s great.”

Marc Lipkin, director of publicity for Walker’s label, Alligator Records, is confident that people who attend the Muskegon show will not be disappointed.

“They’re going to be exposed to a type of blues that has the kind of energy that most rock acts can’t come close to,” Lipkin said. “People that go out to see him are going to have their boots blown off. He is a high energy performer.”

Even though he’s primarily known as a bluesman, Walker said his “music straddles several genres.”

“I play all kinds of music. I have friends in all kinds of genres of music, blues just happens to be what I’m known for,” Walker said.

According to his label, he’s influenced by “old country blues,” gospel, and rock, which he brings together into his own signature blues blend.

“Joe Louis Walker is one of the very greatest blues guitarists working today,” Lipkin raved. “He is one of the best blues performers that I’ve ever seen.”

Concert tickets can be purchased at Dreamers Blues Bar. Ticket prices are $15 in advance and $18 at the door on the night of the show.

More information on Joe Louis Walker and the Muskegon show can be found on his Facebook page.